June 2009

Posted on 06/15/2009 by Jon Barton

My Last One!!!
This is my 24th and last column as President of the Atlanta Alumni Association. It has been an honor serving as president of such an illustrious group. I have had a lot of help from the board of directors and I want to thank each of them for their service. This is not the kind of job that you can do by yourself.
The Board has nominated a slate of officers for 2009-2010. This proposed slate of officers will be officially nominated and voted upon at our Annual Meeting on June 19, 2009. The proposed officers are:
President                 Ples Bruce ‘77
Vice President         Mario Maddox ‘85
Treasurer                 Pete Knotegen ‘77
Secretary                 Jim Slemenda ‘66
General Directors   Jon Barton ‘66
Dan Branch ‘96
Ed Brownlee ‘81
Stew Caldwell ‘65
Mike Herger ‘90
Brian Jackson ‘81.
Each of the gentlemen will be counting upon and needing your support in order for us to remain a vibrant and successful chapter.
On May 1st, Navy beat Army (was there ever any doubt) in our annual Army Navy golf tournament. That’s our second win in a row and the tenth out of thirteen times that we have beaten the Woops! Using a modified Stableford scoring system, Navy won +52 to +11. Attendance was down a little this year, but with the great prizes, there should be many more golfers in attendance. Our first place winner won a $100 worth of golf merchandise as well as a set of N-Star engraved glasses. Door prized included a gift certificate for dinner worth $160, bottles of wine and much more. Special thanks go to Dan Branch ‘96 for his generous cash donation and to the USNA member of the Class of 1971 who were victorious against West Point ‘71ers and donated their private bet winnings to the Navy cause. Proceeds from the event provide tuition for needy youngsters in the Atlanta Area to attend the SummerScape math, science and computer camp at Georgia Tech this summer.
Those participating for the Navy team were: Johns Jaudon ‘55, Jack Clay ‘56 and guests Alan Crowell, John Fueling and Buddy Weir, Tony Womble ‘63, Marc Calhoun ‘64, Lorie Moore ‘64, Richard Wilson ‘64, Stew Caldwell ‘65, Joe Frazar ‘65, Will Wood ‘66, Reb Hester ‘67 and guests Lynda Hester, Ray Bordelon and Becky Bordelon, Win Rorabaugh ‘70, Tom Galloway and guest Alan Shaul, Lee Whitfield ‘71 and guest Cole Van Houten, Mark Poole ‘82, Chris Bush ‘83 and guest Rick Whitehead, Doug Hintze ‘83, Bayly Taft ‘84, Tim Goff ‘84, Wendell Ross ‘87, and Karlton Holston ‘02.
The United States Naval Academy Alumni Association in Atlanta held its monthly meeting on May 15th. We had a very distinguished speaker, the Honorable Vince Obsitnik, former ambassador to the Slovak Republic. Ambassador Obsitnik was born in the former Czechoslovakia and moved to the United States shortly before WWII. He is also a United States Naval Academy Alumni, class of 1959.
Ambassador Obsitnik started his presentation with a short video of the formal process of presenting his credentials to the President of the Slovak Republic. It was an impressive ceremony with all the pomp and circumstance expected of such a solemn occasion.
The Ambassador to the Slovak Republic has a staff of about 130. Of these, 30 are US citizens and the rest are Slovak nationals. Many of the different branches of the government are represented and have staff members on the Ambassador’s staff. Commerce, military and state departments are just a few who are represented on his official staff. There are Marine guards assigned, but they are there to guard the Embassy, not the Ambassador. The Slovak Republic assigned 24 hour security. The security consisted of a driver and a body guard.
The Embassy is located in downtown Batislava, the capital. It is a large and impressive building. The residence of the Ambassador was actually built by a former ambassador. It was a four story building. The top floor was covered by a clear dome an had a 360 degree view of the capital. Guards were provided for the outside of the residence and the Embassy by the Slovak Republic but the interior security was US government provided.
The ambassador told us about the many duties of being an ambassador. One of the areas where he seemed to work a lot was dancing. He must be a very good dancer, because almost everywhere he went, there was dancing involved. The dancing was everything from formal balls to folk dances.
There are a lot of Americans descended from Slovokians. In the early 20th century, almost 1/3 of the Slovak population emigrated to the United States. The Sgt. in charge of the group that raised the flag on Iwo Jima was born in Slovakia. The town where he was born has a large mural of the Iwo Jima Memorial in the town.
Those in attendance were: Jerry Mackey ‘54 and his beautiful bride Connie, Clint Johnson ‘60, Neil Block ‘61 and guest Lewis Powl, Mitch Rowland ‘71 and guest Scott Rowland, Jim Todd ‘55, Kathy McCartan ‘85, Carl McCallum ‘60, Harvey Cybul ‘62, Paul Hurst ‘62, Vince Obsitnik ‘59, George Hutchegin ‘70, Steve Frederick ‘72, David Lowe ‘90, Mike Herger ‘90, Ed Hux ‘61, James Coe ‘86, Paul Qualey ‘88, Lee Gard ‘78, Tom Galloway ‘71, Bill Holmes ‘64, Bill Donges ‘71, Lee Whitfield ‘71, Bill Rentz ‘55, Jon Barton ‘66, Bob Snelling ‘65, Don Patterson ‘74, Jeff Johnson ‘84 and Tom Judd ‘72.
Thanks for a wonderful and fulfilling two years.
BEAT ARMY!
Mitch Rowland ’71
Chapter President

Posted in President's Corner | Comments Off on June 2009

Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik, U.S. Ambassador to the to the Slovak Republic, Speaks at May Luncheon

Posted on 05/25/2009 by Jon Barton

November 9, 2007.  Prior to his current appointment, Ambassador Obsitnik was appointed in 2006 by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the Commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the Tragedy in Babyn Yar in Ukraine.   In 2005, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the Austrian State Treaty Anniversary.  In October 2001, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad and served as a member of the Commission until July 2006.    The purpose of the Commission is to be concerned about the cultural heritage of Americans from Central and Eastern Europe.  Ambassador Obsitnik worked to bring international attention to the plight of the 17th and 18th century Greek Catholic wooden churches of Slovakia and, through his leadership, two of the most endangered churches have been restored.
Ambassador Obsitnik has had corporate executive careers with the IBM, Unisys and Litton Corporations.  At Unisys Corporation, as President of the Systems Development Division, he led a $600 million business with 3000 employees marketing and developing advanced electronic and computing systems.  At Litton Corporation, he was Vice President, International and directed business expansion into the European and Latin American markets.    In 27 years at the IBM Corporation, his responsibilities spanned the areas of Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering and Program Management.  He spent 8 years with the IBM World Trade Corporation with manufacturing responsibilities in Europe, Latin America and Asia.  In Latin America, he had overall responsibility for the management of manufacturing plants in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. In Asia, he was responsible for manufacturing logistics of all IBM operations. Following these careers, Ambassador Obsitnik started and became President of International Investments Inc., a consulting company, working in the areas of joint ventures, technology licensing and privatization projects between the U.S. and Central Europe.
Born in 1938 in Moravany, Slovakia, he immigrated with his parents that same year, prior to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany.  His father worked as a coal miner in Pennsylvania after which the family moved to New Jersey where he grew up. Upon graduating from Linden High School, in Linden, NJ, he received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated with the Class of 1959.  He then served the next five years as an officer in the U.S. Navy, in destroyers and submarines.
Ambassador Obsitnik graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1959 with honors. He received his MBA in Finance from The American University in Washington, DC.  He has also attended the IBM Advanced Management School, Sands Point, Long Island, NY; the IBM International ManagementSchool in La Hulpe, Belgium; and the Unisys Executive Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Ambassador Obsitnik is fluent in the Slovak language and has an understanding of Russian. He is a marathon runner and plays tennis and squash.  He is married to the former Annemarie Harden.  They have four sons and twelve grandchildren.

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May 2009

Posted on 05/15/2009 by Jon Barton

The February meeting of the Atlanta Alumni was held together with theWest Point and VMI alumni associations. West Point hosted this joint meeting. Navy had hosted a joint meeting with West Point last summer. West Point had arranged for the Israeli Consul General in Atlanta,Ambassador Reda Monsour, to be the speaker. Almost one hundred alumni and guests gathered to hear Ambassador Monsour.
Those in attendance from USNA included: Win Rorabaugh ‘70, Bill Rentz ‘55, Paul Borer ‘70, Paul Hurst ‘62. Ed Sundberg ‘68, Kent Chruchill ‘90, Jim Slemenda ‘66 and his beautiful bride Susan, Gerald Mackey ‘54 and his wonderful bride Connie, Pete Knoetgen ‘77 with his bride Sue, Tim Phillips ‘89, Bill Donges ‘71, Ton Ariail ‘84, Karl Schwelm ‘71 with USMA guest Roger Hill ‘00, and Ples Bruce ‘77. There were more in attendance and I’m sorry if I left your name off the list. Not everyone signed in at this joint meeting and several of our members had guests that also did not get on the list.
Ambassador Monsour has had several books published, including three books of poetry. He is a PhD candidate in Syrian Studies. The Ambassador has held four similar positions on three different continents. He noted that he finds Atlanta to be the most friendly of the cities in which he has been assigned.
Ambassador Monsour stared by showing a map of the Mid East. On a map that shows the Muslim world, Israel is so small that you can’t even write the name of the country in the space it occupies on the map. Trying to divide such a small country into two countries is not easy.
Israel has made a miraculous transformation in only sixty years. Before 1948, Israel was an unimportant providence in what was left of the Ottoman Empire. It was a desolate area. Israel is now number 23 on a list of the world’s most developed nations. Many of today’s technological advances originate in Israel. Cell phones actually got their start in Israel. Israel is second to the United States in companies listed on NASDAQ and is even ahead of Canada. On a per capita basis, Israel has more doctors, lawyers, engineers, classical musicians and theater tickets sold than any other country.
Surrounding Israel, the Mid-East leads the world in poverty, dictatorships and political instability. Countries controlled by dictators need an enemy to unite the population. Israel and the United States are the enemies of choice for most of these regional dictators. Saddam Hussein sent cash to the West Bank from the United Nations Oil for Food program even while people in Iraq were starving. Today, Iransupports Hamas even though it is a different culture and a different form of Islam. You can tell where dictators think their real enemies are by where they station their elite units. Those units are always posted near the capital against internal threats, not the boarders for the external threat.
The Ambassador pointed out that boarder wars were common in South American when most countries there were dictatorships. Ecuador and Peru signed a Peace Treaty in 2001, ending 160 years of warfare. As the countries of South America embrace democracy, the border wars stopped. Democracies do not want to waste resources on war. There are much better ways to use those resources.
Information Technology is changing things all over the world. In Iran, the Moral Police enforce dress codes on women by using clubs to hit women with skirts that are deemed too short. Within seconds, someone with a camera phone has posted those pictures to YouTube. The internet also shows the freedom that citizens have in democracies. People want that freedom whether in Africa, Latin America or the Mid East.
These changes will not happen quickly though. It took Western Civilizations 500 years to change from church controlled states to democracy. The Mid East is about 300 years behind. Part of the problem is that in Islam, they remember the great Islamic Empires and they want to return to those empires.
Iran is not an Arab country and some Arab countries are beginning to see Iran as a bigger threat than Israel. It is Iran that is funding the instability in Gaza, Lebanon and Pakistan. Some countries are beginning to worry that Iran may try to destabilize their governments. This is providing an opportunity for progress.
Upcoming Events:
I want to remind our members that the Dark Ages Party will be held on March 28th at the Commons at Fort McPherson. This is a members only event. Invitations will be sent to everyone who was a member in 2008 and has joined in January or February of 2009. If you want to come,AND YOU SHOULD WANT TO COME, send in your membership form or join online at our website.
We will also have a dinner at Babette’s in April. This is a wonderful place and we get a great meal at a bargain price. The unfortunate part is that the seating is very limited.
Also on 01 May, we will have our annual Army-Navy golf tournament at Fort McPherson. We have our win streak started again and I’d like to keep it going! So, put these dates on your calendar.
Also, and this is very important, we need members who would like to join the Board of Directors. For our organization to improve, we need to keep getting new and enthusiastic people to serve. It is these new people who come up with the new ideas that help our organization improve. It is not very time consuming, usually about two hours per month. Please call me at 770-487-9746 or e-mail me atgrumpymitch@yahoo.com if you would like to help.
BEAT ARMY!
Mitch Rowland ’71
Chapter President

Posted in President's Corner | Comments Off on May 2009

Navy Takes Two In a Row with Victory in the 13th Annual Army-Navy Golf Classic

Posted on 05/02/2009 by Jon Barton

On May 1, 2009, the Naval Academy Alumni Association of Atlanta (Navy) easily outdistanced the West Point Society of Atlanta (Army) in the 13th annual Army-Navy Golf Classic, an annual spring competition that was begun in 1997.  Navy has won ten of the thirteen events to date.  As before, the golf competition and awards dinner that followed took place at the Golfers Club at Fort McPherson.  Proceeds from the event went to provide tuition for needy youngsters in the Atlanta area to attend the SummerScape math, science, and computer camp at Georgia Tech this summer.
The golfers were blessed as the usual late spring forecast of scattered showers resulted in a perfect Georgia spring day for golf (not too hot, just a little breeze) and the whole course was in great condition. Everyone enjoyed the golf and camaraderie as well as a very fine dinner with prizes.  Prizes this year included a round of golf with a guest, a $160 dinner, bottles of wine, and more.
Despite again missing some regulars this year, the event enjoyed the participation of a few new faces for the Blue and Gold.  Using the modified Stableford scoring system, the final score was Navy at +52 to Army’s +11.  We hope that next year, with the number of new folks participating this year and our regulars rejoining the team, to have a really tremendous event with record attendance as well as record support for our charity (and Navy’s 11th victory in the series).
Participating in the 2009 Army-Navy Golf Classic were the following: Johns Jaudon ’55; Jack Clay ’56 and guests Alan Crowell, John Fueling, and Buddy Weir; Tony Womble ’63; Marc Calhoun ’64; Lorie Moore ’64; Richard Wilson ’64; Stew Caldwell ’65; Joe Frazar ’65; Will Wood ’66; Reb Hester ’67 and guests Lynda Hester, Ray Bordelon, and Becky Bordelon; Win Rorabaugh ’70; Tom Galloway ’71 and guest Alan Shaul; Lee Whitfield ’71 and guest Cole Van Houten; Mark Poole ’82; Chris Bush ’83 and guest Rick Whitehead; Doug Hintze ’83; Brad Jones ’83; Bayly Taft ’84; Tim Goff ’84; Wendell Ross ’87; and Karlton Holston ‘02.  Also joining the Navy side as a guest was Mike Ryan, Director of Summer Programs for Georgia Tech’s Center for Education in Math, Science, and Computers (CEISMC).  Navy again brought many more players to the field of honor than Army.
In the Stableford competition, and winning increasingly bigger gift certificates, were Lynda Hester in 4th place; Becky Bordelon in 3rd; and Bayly Taff in 2nd.  Buddy Weir, guest of Jack Clay, took first place for Navy and won a $100 worth of golf merchandise as well as a set N-Starr engraved classes.  Buddy Weir was closest to the pin on Par 3 7thhole and Becky Bordelon had the longest drive on the Par 5 15th hole.
Many thanks go to Dan Branch ’96 for his generous cash donation and to the USNA members of the Class of 1971 who were victorious against their West Point counterparts and donated their $100 in winnings to the Navy cause.
We look forward to the 14th renewal of the classic in May 2010.  All golfing USNAAAA members in the Atlanta area are invited to join us for the competition and camaraderie.  It’s always a fun time for all.

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Bill Donges ’71 Speaks at April 2009 Luncheon

Posted on 04/28/2009 by Jon Barton

Bill Donges started his talk with some background information. He had planned to go to Annapolis and become a Naval Aviator. But, his eyesight kept him from attending flight school. So, he went to the USS Turner Joy. He reported aboard and was to meet the officers in the wardroom. The Captain was there and took his service record and began reviewing it. Suddenly, he shouted an obscenity and threw the folder. He then told him that he didn’t have any Academy graduates on board and don’t expect you ring to get you any special favors. What a start on your first day.
After his tour on the Turner Joy, Bill reported back to Annapolis as an instructor in the Seamanship and Navigation Department. He enjoyed his time back at USNA, but decided to leave active duty. He remained in the reserves.
When he was looking for his first job out of the Navy, he was offered any one of three cities in the deep south. Since he and his wife were not southerners, he asked where the worst performing unit was located. He was told Chicago. He asked to be assigned to Chicago and they sent him there. Within two years, the Chicago area had become a top performing unit. After that the company sent him to different areas in the company that were having trouble. His reputation as a turnaround specialist spread beyond his company and he began to get offers from other companies.
After a number of moves, he decided to start his own company that would help start up companies with their business plans and finances. He eventually came to Atlanta and took a position with the Lane Company, a real estate firm that needed some help. He helped the company expand from it’s base in Atlanta.
Even with the downturn in the business climate now, Bill is very optimistic with the overall outcome for the United States. He related that from 1976-1980, President Carter had a larger democratic majority than President Obama. It was also during those years that we had double digit inflation and unemployment. But, it was in those years that Microsoft and a number of our most successful companies started.
Bill told us about several new technologies that are looking for start up money. Some of the innovations are really unbelievable. With the drive and individual freedoms that we as Americans have, we will come out ahead!
We were very fortunate to have Bill as our speaker.
(Write-up by Mitch Rowland ’71.)
Those in attendance were: Jim Ellis ‘69, Barry Gittleman ‘89, Jerry Mackey ‘54 and his bride Connie, Tony Womble ‘63, John Stark ‘51, Lee Gavel ‘78, Rick Jacobs ‘72, Ed Hux ‘61, Steve Weise ‘72, Steve Chesnut ‘74, Ross Burkhead ‘71, Jon Barton ‘66, Will Smith ‘97, Bill Barnes ‘82, Jennifer Barnes ‘82, Paul Borer ‘70, Lee Whitfield ‘71, Brian Huey ‘90, Dick Borowiec ‘68, Stew Caldwell ‘65, Bill Rentz ‘55, Don Patterson ‘74, and Bryan Lichtenstein ‘96. Our SOPA was John Stark ‘51 and the plebe for a day was Will Smith ‘97. That gave us a 46 year span of graduates.

Click on a thumbnail image to view a full sized picture.


Chapter President Mitch Rowland ’71 presents Bill with his
personalized Atlanta Chapter apron!

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March 2009

Posted on 03/15/2009 by Jon Barton

The February meeting of the Atlanta Alumni was held together with theWest Point and VMI alumni associations. West Point hosted this joint meeting. Navy had hosted a joint meeting with West Point last summer. West Point had arranged for the Israeli Consul General in Atlanta,Ambassador Reda Monsour, to be the speaker. Almost one hundred alumni and guests gathered to hear Ambassador Monsour.
Those in attendance from USNA included: Win Rorabaugh ‘70, Bill Rentz ‘55, Paul Borer ‘70, Paul Hurst ‘62. Ed Sundberg ‘68, Kent Chruchill ‘90, Jim Slemenda ‘66 and his beautiful bride Susan, Gerald Mackey ‘54 and his wonderful bride Connie, Pete Knoetgen ‘77 with his bride Sue, Tim Phillips ‘89, Bill Donges ‘71, Ton Ariail ‘84, Karl Schwelm ‘71 with USMA guest Roger Hill ‘00, and Ples Bruce ‘77. There were more in attendance and I’m sorry if I left your name off the list. Not everyone signed in at this joint meeting and several of our members had guests that also did not get on the list.
Ambassador Monsour has had several books published, including three books of poetry. He is a PhD candidate in Syrian Studies. The Ambassador has held four similar positions on three different continents. He noted that he finds Atlanta to be the most friendly of the cities in which he has been assigned.
Ambassador Monsour stared by showing a map of the Mid East. On a map that shows the Muslim world, Israel is so small that you can’t even write the name of the country in the space it occupies on the map. Trying to divide such a small country into two countries is not easy.
Israel has made a miraculous transformation in only sixty years. Before 1948, Israel was an unimportant providence in what was left of the Ottoman Empire. It was a desolate area. Israel is now number 23 on a list of the world’s most developed nations. Many of today’s technological advances originate in Israel. Cell phones actually got their start in Israel. Israel is second to the United States in companies listed on NASDAQ and is even ahead of Canada. On a per capita basis, Israel has more doctors, lawyers, engineers, classical musicians and theater tickets sold than any other country.
Surrounding Israel, the Mid-East leads the world in poverty, dictatorships and political instability. Countries controlled by dictators need an enemy to unite the population. Israel and the United States are the enemies of choice for most of these regional dictators. Saddam Hussein sent cash to the West Bank from the United Nations Oil for Food program even while people in Iraq were starving. Today, Iransupports Hamas even though it is a different culture and a different form of Islam. You can tell where dictators think their real enemies are by where they station their elite units. Those units are always posted near the capital against internal threats, not the boarders for the external threat.
The Ambassador pointed out that boarder wars were common in South American when most countries there were dictatorships. Ecuador and Peru signed a Peace Treaty in 2001, ending 160 years of warfare. As the countries of South America embrace democracy, the border wars stopped. Democracies do not want to waste resources on war. There are much better ways to use those resources.
Information Technology is changing things all over the world. In Iran, the Moral Police enforce dress codes on women by using clubs to hit women with skirts that are deemed too short. Within seconds, someone with a camera phone has posted those pictures to YouTube. The internet also shows the freedom that citizens have in democracies. People want that freedom whether in Africa, Latin America or the Mid East.
These changes will not happen quickly though. It took Western Civilizations 500 years to change from church controlled states to democracy. The Mid East is about 300 years behind. Part of the problem is that in Islam, they remember the great Islamic Empires and they want to return to those empires.
Iran is not an Arab country and some Arab countries are beginning to see Iran as a bigger threat than Israel. It is Iran that is funding the instability in Gaza, Lebanon and Pakistan. Some countries are beginning to worry that Iran may try to destabilize their governments. This is providing an opportunity for progress.
Upcoming Events:
I want to remind our members that the Dark Ages Party will be held on March 28th at the Commons at Fort McPherson. This is a members only event. Invitations will be sent to everyone who was a member in 2008 and has joined in January or February of 2009. If you want to come,AND YOU SHOULD WANT TO COME, send in your membership form or join online at our website.
We will also have a dinner at Babette’s in April. This is a wonderful place and we get a great meal at a bargain price. The unfortunate part is that the seating is very limited.
Also on 01 May, we will have our annual Army-Navy golf tournament at Fort McPherson. We have our win streak started again and I’d like to keep it going! So, put these dates on your calendar.
Also, and this is very important, we need members who would like to join the Board of Directors. For our organization to improve, we need to keep getting new and enthusiastic people to serve. It is these new people who come up with the new ideas that help our organization improve. It is not very time consuming, usually about two hours per month. Please call me at 770-487-9746 or e-mail me atgrumpymitch@yahoo.com if you would like to help.
BEAT ARMY!
Mitch Rowland ’71
Chapter President

Posted in President's Corner | Comments Off on March 2009

February 2009

Posted on 02/15/2009 by Jon Barton

We had a great luncheon meeting in January.  The speaker was our own Clint Johnson ‘60.  Those of you who didn’t attend, you missed agreat talk.  Clint had been featured on the History Channel’s Dogfight series.  I had seen the show, but hearing it from Clint was even better than watching the program.  You can read a summary of the story in the February 2009 newsletter on the newsletter page on this site.
Those in attendance were: Donald Thompson ‘59, Bill Holmes ‘64, Tony Womble ‘63, Paul Borer ‘70, Steve Frederick ‘72, Ed Hux ‘61, Stew Caldwell ‘65, Tom Galloway ‘71, Charles Hurd ‘04, Jerry Mackey ‘54 with his beautiful bride Connie, Johns Jaudon ‘55, Pete Knoetgen ‘77, Paul Hurst ‘62 with his lovely bride Nancy, Bill Rentz ‘55, Jon Barton ‘66, Lee Whitfield ‘71, Jim Hatch ‘47 and Mario Maddux ‘85. SOPA was Jim Hatch ‘47 and the winner of Plebe for a day was Charles Hurd ‘04.
We will have the Dark Ages Party this year on March 28th. The speaker will be Col Art Athens, who is the Director of the Academy’s Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership.  I hope that we will get a large turnout for this event.  You must be a member of the Atlanta Alumni Assn to get an invite to this event.
The membership letter for 2009 will be out very soon.  Those of you who took advantage of our December registration will be considered members for 2009.  Also, last year we established a lifetime membership category for our Atlanta area alumni.  For anyone who is a member of the class of 1948 or earlier, you are considered a lifetime member and will not be charged dues.
BEAT ARMY!
Mitch Rowland ’71
Chapter President

Posted in President's Corner | Comments Off on February 2009

January 2009

Posted on 01/15/2009 by Jon Barton

I know that Christmas will be over before you read this, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year anyway.
December was a busy month here in Atlanta. We started off with the Army-Navy gathering at the Fox Sports Grill. We had almost 200 gather for the festivities. Unfortunately (not really), Army didn’t have much to celebrate. But all the Navy supporters had plenty to cheer about. It is always nice to see how many younger members come from Army. They have Ft. McClellan here in Atlanta. But they have quite a few recent grads travel the 90 miles from Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA.
Then on December 14th we had our annual Christmas Party. This year we had the largest gathering in recent memory. I guess the suddenly lower cost of gas helped attendance. We had a large contingent from the north side of Atlanta. Someday, those over 150 alumni from the south side will get the word that these events are fun and start coming. Those in attendance were: Richard Click ‘70 with Heather, Paul Borer ‘70 with Jody, Jon Barton ‘66 with Jan, Stewart Caldwell ‘65 with Ann, Jack Clay ‘56 with Patricia, Chuck Chandonnet ‘61, Ed Hux with Muriel, Mike Hughes ‘76 with Jan, Mike Midas ‘60 with Agnes, Clint Johnson with Monty, Jesse Wrice ‘83, Nick Ward ‘74 with Jean, Charles Gardner ‘61 with Diane, Paul Hurst ‘62 with Nancy, Win Rorabaugh ‘70 with Joan, Bill Rentz ‘55 with Sue and Fern Johnson, Frank Regan ‘70, Spencer McManes ‘57 with Anne, Bob Thome ‘74 with Connie, Mitch Rowland ‘71 with Carole, Larry Bergen ‘66 with Cheryl, Gerry Mackey ‘54 with Connie, Terry McElroy ‘86 with Mary ‘87, Joe Frazar ‘65 with Marilyn, Harvey Cybul ‘62 with Lois and Carl McCallum ‘60 with Marilyn. The gathering had good food and better conversations and friends. We can only hope that somehow the word gets out about this event so that it will continue to grow in years to come.
And just to make a busy week busier, we had our monthly meeting on Dec 19th. Our speaker was Jim Daigneau. Jim started in AFROTC, but due to some good fortune, he ended up as an AVROC. He was awarded his Wings of Gold at NAS Chase Field in Beeville, TX. He has flown the A-6E, KA-6D, A-7, F-18, F-16N, and several models of the A-4. He was the only A-6 pilot in the initial group of F-18 pilots. He is now a senior instructor and APD for the 757 and 767 at Delta Air Lines. He is also the Project Pilot for the 757 fleet at Delta.
Jim spoke to us about recent developments in Iraq. He explained how the surge had worked so effectively. The “shoe throwing” incident happened just after our meeting and really showed how much things have changed. The thrower wasn’t taken out and never heard from again. As far as we know, his family is OK. Only a few years ago, he and his family would have been history by now.
Those who attended our monthly meeting were: Bill Rentz ‘55, Clint Johnson ‘60 with guest Maj Todd Copley USAF, Tony Womble ‘63, Don Thompson ‘59, Dick Borowiec ‘68, Mario Maddox ‘85, Ples Bruce ‘77, Jon Barton ’66, Rick Haley ‘72. Our SOPA was Sam Smith ‘52 and the plebe for the day isn’t even a plebe yet. Mario Maddox brought his daughter Michelle who is at NAPS and will be a member of the class of 2013!
On the very next day, December 20th, we gathered again at the Fox Sports Grill for the Eagle Bank Bowl. We had about 20 in attendance. Even though Navy lost, we enjoyed the game. Something about the offense just didn’t seem to click this year. So, we had our third loss in Bowl games. But we have been competitive in all of them.
Our next scheduled event is our monthly meeting on January 16th. We hope to have a large gathering to start the New Year.
BEAT ARMY!
Mitch Rowland ’71
Chapter President

Posted in President's Corner | Comments Off on January 2009

Clint Johnson ’60, Speaks at January 2009 Luncheon

Posted on 01/28/0209 by Jon Barton

Our guest speaker at the January Chapter luncheon was Chapter member Clint Johnson ’60. The following is a summary of Clint’s presentation at the January Chapter Luncheon.
Frustration and fatigue were starting to simultaneously set in on me on 20 June 1965. It was supposed to be a stand-down day, but by noon we were suiting up for an emergency RESCAP. An Air Force photo-recon pilot had been shot down very deep into the northwest corner of North Vietnam.
We manned up three times before we launched. By now we were fast becoming the leaders in the squadron sweat stain contest. The sweat stain contest was unique to Skyraider squadrons. The winner was the pilot who could merge the salty white left and right armpit stains in the center of his flight suit first. This contest was made possible by the USS MIDWAY (CVA-41) laundry and morale officer who would accept only one flight suit per week per pilot from us. At any rate we were hot, sweaty and beginning to worry that this man up was going to mean no dinner. This time, however, we started, were told that we were a go mission and began our taxi forward to the catapults. It was almost 1800. The cat shot killed my radio. I was able to get the number two radio working, but continued to fiddle with number one so that I could act as relay. I got it working and checked in on tactical frequency as we went feet dry. Then it failed again. Feet dry at 12,000 feet heading northwest we were passing north of Thanh Hoa. LCDR Ed Greathouse was in the lead. On his port wing was LTJG Jim LYNNE. I was on his starboard wing with Charlie Hartmann on my starboard. We all had the standard RESCAP load: two 150 gallon drop-tanks on the stub racks, four LAU-3 pods with 19 2.75 inch rockets apiece and 800 rounds of 20mm for the four wing cannons. We were flying steadily toward the downed pilot. Suddenly Ed Greathouse rolled inverted into a near vertical dive with Jim Lynne following. I rolled and followed him down. I was concerned that I had not heard anything and that we were only 70 miles inland, at least 80 miles from our RESCAP point. A quick radio check confirmed that my radio was dead. We had been jumped by two Mig-17’s. Our only hope was to get down low and try to out turn the MiGs. Ed was doing just that. Our split-S got us some speed and reversed our course toward the ship. I figured that any time my nose was pointed at the ground my ordnance should be armed. I armed the guns and set up the rockets. About that time I saw a large unguided rocket go past downward. My first inclination was that it was a SAM, but SAMs generally go up. This was confirmed when a silver MiG-17 with red marking on wings and tail streaked by Charlie and me heading for Ed. Tracers from behind and a jet intake growing larger in my mirror were a signal to start pulling and turning. As I put g’s on the Skyraider I could see the two distinct sizes of tracers falling away (The MiG-17 had two 23mm and one 37mm cannon in the nose.) He stayed with us throughout the turn firing all the way. Fortunately, he was unable to stay inside our turn and overshot. He climbed to a perch position and stayed there.
Our turning had separated us from Ed and Jim. Now that we were no longer under attack my main concern was to rejoin the flight. As we had been flying at treetop level in and out of small valleys, we had to fly around a small hill to get to them. Coming around the hill we saw Ed Greathouse and Jim LYNNE low with the MiG lined up behind them. I fired a short burst and missed, but got his attention. He turned hard into us to make a head-on pass. Charlie and I fired simultaneously as he passed so close that Charlie thought that I had hit his vertical stabilizer with the tip of my tail hook and Charlie flew through his wake. Both of us fired all four guns. I could see pieces falling off the Mig. After he passed us he rolled inverted and hit a small hill. We briefly considered trying to cut off the other MiG, but were dissuaded by the voice of Ed Greathouse asking what we thought we were doing staying in the area when STRAUSS was reporting numerous bogeys inbound to our position. We took the hint and headed out low level to the Tonkin Gulf were we rejoined with our flight leader.
After debriefs all around, the politics started. Charlie and I were informed that we would get no recognition or awards for our MiG kill. SECNAV had been aboard three days earlier when VF-21 F-4 pilots had bagged the first kills of the war. Their awards were being held until SECNAV could get to Washington, announce it to the President and present it to Congress with the plea for more funds for F-4 Phantoms to fight the air war.
Obviously, the success of primitive Skyraiders would undermine his plans. Unfortunately, someone had included our kill in the daily action report to MACV where it was read by COMSEVENFLT DET “C” who thought that it would be an excellent opportunity for Navy public relations. Indirectly Ngyuen Cao Ky, the new Premier of South Vietnam, and a Skyraider pilot, heard of it and recognized Ed Greathouse’s name as one of the Skyraider instructors from the RAG. He then demanded our appearance for Vietnamese awards.
The next day we flew to Saigon for the Five O’clock Follies and were instant celebrities, since the news media did not yet know about the F-4 kills. They assumed that we were the first which made an even better story. We stayed at the Majestic Hotel in Saigon where we thoroughly enjoyed the lack of water hours and the availability of our favorite beverages. The next day we were guests of Premier Ky at the palace where we were awarded Air Gallantry Medals and honorary commissions in the South Vietnamese Air Force.
Upon arrival back at MIDWAY we were surprised to learn that there had been a change of heart and we would to be recognized at the same ceremony as the F-4 pilots. Since they had already been recommended for Silver Stars, Charlie and I go the same while Ed and Jim got Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Many thanks to Clint for sharing his great experience with us.


Chapter President Mitch Rowland ’71 presents Clint with his
personalized Atlanta Chapter apron!

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